Athletes look for every edge possible to compete at a higher level. Advances in sports clothing and equipment technology provide numerous advantages on the playing field. Basketball players stay agile on the court with better gripping shoes, lineman wear tighter jerseys so their opponents cannot easily control them, and soccer players opt for jerseys made of lightweight fabrics that keep them drier during games. By providing physical advantageous like being agile, harder to graph, and drier, athletically optimized clothing incidentally helps players remain calm and confident during competition. Sports often require just as much psychological intensity as physical, so anything that keeps an athlete calm under pressure can go a long way in helping the athlete compete.
Collars and seams on athletic apparel present unique opportunities for improvement. When jerseys are worn, collars typically rest in the bottom groove of an athlete's neck, an area prone to collect and pool sweat flowing down the athlete's neck. As a result, collars generally absorb larger amounts of athlete sweat than other portions of a jersey—like the baggier area in front of the stomach. Jerseys and pants are conventionally manufactured by sewing different portions of fabric together at a seam. Resultant seams can be uncomfortable or irritable, especially around the neck and shoulder regions.
Athletic apparel can be a fiercely competitive area of business, so designers strive to develop brand recognition as their technologies advance. Placing a company's logo on shirts and jerseys is commonplace today. The collar and seams of a shirt, however, are somewhat more difficult areas to showcase logos or advertisements because collars may wrinkle and seams do not always lay flat. Today's sporting events may be watched by millions, but much of an athlete's clothing, when worn, is not ideal for placing a logo or advertisement because the clothing's material is not very rigid. Collars, for example, do not always lie flat so anything printed thereon becomes difficult for a fan to see when the player's moving. As brand-recognition becomes more important to every business, advertiser, manufacturer, and team, clothing becomes another place for marketing.